February 1, 2021 — The Mother of All Living

Eve began some big trends: desiring her husband, sorrow in childbirth, and changing history one baby at a time.

When God told Eve about the coming war between the Devil and her seed, He wasn’t finished: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Gen 3:16). They say few things are as joyful as bringing a child into the world, and few things are as painful as—bringing a child into the world. Obviously, I’m not the one to opine about the pains of childbirth, but I have stood beside my dear wife as she heroically brought seven children into the world. That’s right—2 boys and 5 girls. There are many sorrows associated with childbirth. My oldest has the sorrow of boys with severe autism. Other daughters have had the sorrow of not bearing children when they longed for them. Still another lost a little one in the womb. And some now struggle with the challenges of raising children in a world cut loose from its Creator. The Hebrew for “greatly multiply” is “multiplying I will multiply.” And it’s difficult to avoid this because of Part 2: “your desire shall be for your husband.” You will find it almost impossible to shun the great pain and peril of child-bearing, because you will also have a strong desire, an appetite, towards being one with your husband. Oh the predicament the human race finds itself in because of going our own way! Ironically, Adam could still see the bright side. And so, even though the race was dying, Adam by faith called his wife Eve, meaning “the mother of all living.” Imagine each contributing one cell, then see a child develop from this! What potential! Instead of a power struggle over ruling, what a joy when we have mutual submission, turning the battle of the sexes into the blessing of a godly home.